


Always Look Before You Leap

by misslmf



Series: x reddie fics x [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst with a Happy Ending, Bill Denbrough is a Good Friend, Dialogue Heavy, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Disaster Stanley Uris, Henry Bowers Being an Asshole, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Light Angst, M/M, Oops, Period-Typical Homophobia, Rated T for Trashmouth, Reddie, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Stanley Uris is a Good Friend, Stenbrough, but he does have his life more together than eddie, just like everything i write, no stenbrough until the second chapter, they're just stupidly oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-05 17:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21212423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misslmf/pseuds/misslmf
Summary: After Richie's encounter with the Paul Bunyan statue, he just wants to escape from everything that had happened that day. And when Eddie finds him lying on the ground, he thinks that his day has just improved massively. That is until, Henry Bowers and his gang run out of the arcade, looking for a certain trashmouth——there is use of the homophobic slurs from Bowers in this fic, and your average mature swear words (the ones that Richie and Eddie would shout out every other word - which they kind of do in this fic) so be careful if you're not a fan of that stuffalso, I have aged up the characters in this fic to about 16 (the same plot takes place, I just wanted to make them a bit older)





	1. Chapter 1

"I think I just shit my pants." Richie shut his eyes and his head bonked on the grass as he curled up on the ground. Getting mud and dust on his clothes never bothered him that much anyway.

He rubbed his eyes and cleaned his glasses after a while, to look up at the pedestal high up in front of him. The Paul Bunyan statue was still standing there, in one hand holding an axe thrown over his shoulder and in the other was a long pick that he was leaning on. Just as still and statue-like as it was before. Except suddenly his huge smile and bright blue eyes weren't so friendly anymore.

"Hey Richie, what are you doing on the floor?"

Richie shot up suddenly and saw Eddie standing in front of him with one eyebrow raised, a stupid smile on his face and his hands on his hips. Although he seemed happy and smug, his fingers were playing with fraying threads of his fanny pack strap. It was a clear tell to Richie that something with Eddie was wrong; he knew every tell that meant there was something bothering him. Richie put on his usual mask with a smirk and laughed lightly at him.

"Yeah I'm waiting down here for your mom, I can't wait for her to show up." Richie threw a wink to Eddie, who rolled his eyes.

"Shut up dickwad, and get up off the floor. You're getting dirt all over your shirt." Eddie held out his hand and heaved Richie up off the floor, who brushed dust and leaves off his chest. "What were you really doing down there huh?"

"I told you, your mom's coming soon. You might not wanna be here when she does. I don't think her little Eddie-bear would want to see what's about to go down." Richie leapt forward and pinched Eddie's cheek. He immediately got batted away but he didn't mind too much. It was a nice familiar routine by that point.

"Fuck off." Eddie turned and gestured for Richie to follow. "Come on, I was thinking of going down to the Quarry, wanna-"

"Where are you, you four-eyed faggot!"

Both Richie and Eddie's heads whipped round and saw Henry Bowers and his gang walking out of the arcade, looking back and forth down the streets. Richie blanched and started shaking. Eddie glanced at him curiously.

"Are they talking about you?" He whispered.

"Are there any other four-eyed fa-" Richie choked on the last word and had to clear his throat. "_Kids _around here?" Eddie's face looked blank and Richie groaned. "Yes they're talking about me!"

They looked back at Bowers, who looked really pissed. Richie bit his lip nervously until he tasted a bit of blood, which only made him more stressed. Eddie looked concerned for him and Richie tried to smile again, but the fear in his eyes decided to say otherwise.

"Alright, we're getting out of here." Eddie grabbed Richie's hand tight and they started booking it across the square and down the street. They could hear Bowers shouting their names but they didn't dare look back. Eddie's hand in his was the only thing that Richie could focus on at that moment.

"Where are we going?" Richie said, trying not to trip over little pebbles or slip on bundles of leaves. "And please slow down, I think I'm gonna shit my pants for real this time."

Eddie looked back at him with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean _this time?_" He tried to say before Richie yelled out and they had to swerve before they ran straight into a tree. "Shit I need to look where I'm going!"

"Do you think they're gone yet?" Richie asked, having to speak louder over the whistling of the wind in his ears. He couldn't say he was thrilled about all of the running but he was honestly surprised that Eddie hadn't collapsed of lung failure due to it all.

As if on cue, Bowers suddenly shouted, "WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU TOZIER? AND YOUR FAGGY BOYFRIEND, KASPBRAK?"

"Fuck they know I'm with you." Eddie cursed, somehow going faster than they were before. Richie was shocked that those damn tiny legs could run as fast as they were. Especially since his arm was swining back and forth so fast; he'd only just got his cast taken off.

"Well I can't say I'm surprised Spaghetti Head, you were the one who shouted and started sprinting through town, dragging me along behind you." Richie shook his head even though he knew Eddie couldn't see it.

Before Richie even knew what was happening, they were in the forest and instead of grey, mouldy buildings flying past, there were beautiful deep green trees and light coloured flowers. It was kind of beautiful despite the fact that possible death by a teenager stabbing them was on the horizon. Eddie didn't seem to show any signs of stopping however. Richie gasped when he saw their regular clifftop was in front of them.

"Eddie, are you planning for us to run off the edge of this here cliff?" He asked once they'd stopped and looked over the edge. He sighed when he heard the somewhat comforting rattling noise of Eddie's inhaler, and then the giant wheeze as he breathed in, echo across the forest.

"No, I'm not dumbass." Eddie replied, clenching his fists. "I'm just trying to work out what the fuck we're supposed to do now." He was scratching the back of his neck and began to play with the threads on his bag strap again.

"I'm coming for you~" Bowers sung. Eddie and Richie tensed, as the voice seemed a hell of a lot closer now.

"Maybe we could jump." Richie said under his breath. He didn't expect Eddie to hear him and he jumped when Eddie shouted at him.

"Are you insane?!" He yelled, pointing a finger right in Richie's face.

"What? It's not like we haven't done it before! We literally did it last week!"

"Yeah but my arm wasn't in a cast, and we weren't fully clothed, do you know how heavy clothes get when they're wet? They could drag us down! Plus we're alone, just the two of us. what happens if we get hurt?! Damn it, why did I have to leave my second fanny pack at home today of all days" Eddie looked behind the two of them and started tapping his feet on the ground rapidly. Another sign that he was getting anxious.

"Do you have any other bright ideas?" Richie pushed off his loose Hawaiian shirt that was over a white t-shirt and kicked off his trainers. He gestured desperately for Eddie to quickly do the same thing. "Hurry up you little shit - emphasis on _little."_

Eddie rolled his eyes and did the same, but really he could only take off his shoes before he started getting naked. His hands lingered at the fanny pack around his waist and it took a slap on the arm from Richie for him to finally unclip it and hide it safely in the bushes beside them.

"There you are!"

The two boys looked and Bowers was right behind them, holding a huge rock in his hand, tossing it up and down, looking like he was ready to throw it at either one of their heads.

"Now or never Eds!" Richie clasped onto Eddie's hands and before he could even answer, he ran forward and jumped over the edge. Eddie screamed as they went through the air.

"You're a fucking dick!" He screeched. The wind was whipping his hair all over the place as they fell, the water coming closer and closer. Richie started to regret his decision. "Keep your legs straight when you hit the water!"

Richie did what he said and they fell smoothly into the water, making a loud splash that hopefully disguised where they landed. The cold water was a shock to both of them, so much so that it felt like Richie's lungs stopped working. He dreaded to think what it had done to Eddie. Richie realised that the inhaler was at the top in the fanny pack that was hidden in a bush. _Shit._

His eyes were shut tight but he held Eddie's hand even tighter and he smiled when he felt a squeeze back. Bubbles tickled his face so he knew there was no point in opening his eyes; his vision would be blocked anyway.But when a hand slapped his face he decided it was maybe time to try and swim up to the surface, pulling Eddie with him.

_"Fuck!" _Was the first thing Richie yelled when he poked his head out of the water. He finally let go of Eddie's hand and rubbed his eyes, not even panicking when he couldn't find his glasses. He knew they were going to fall of the second he jumped.

"Shut up Richie!" Eddie said, grabbing Richie's face in his hands to hold it still and get him to focus. "He might still be around here. So just hush up for a bit, okay?"

"But-"

Eddie clamped a hand over Richie's mouth to immediately get him to stop talking. He glared at Richie said shut up with only a look. It got him to shrink back a least a little bit. They were treading water so close and their faces were less than a hair's-breadth away from each other. Richie turned red and the feeling of Eddie's hand on his mouth. He knew that if he moved his lips even a _tiny _amount, he would be kissing Eddie's skin. That thought made him very nervous.

"Let's go." Eddie whispered, slowly pulling his hand away. "To the lakeside, _quietly"_

They began to swim a slow breaststroke out of the lake, still swimming close despite not holding hands with each other anymore. Richie's heart rate was finally slowing and his throat wasn't as tight as it was before they'd jumped. He couldn't stop those words being shouted in his head though.

_'I'm not your fucking boyfriend' 'Get the fuck out of here faggot' 'Your faggy boyfriend, Kaspbrak.'_

They were so damn close to freedom before they saw someone standing at the end of forest. The guy was facing away from him but it was clear he was laughing to his friends and shaking his head, as if he thought it was ridiculous that they even thought that Eddie and Richie could even _try _to get away. They both stopped as much as they could without sinking to the bottom of the lake. Eddie nodded away from the people at the shore and they swam as fast as they could round a corner to hide behind as few rocks on the other side of the lake. Fortunately it was shallower there and they could stand.

"That was fucking close man." Richie muttered, pushing wet hair off of his forehead and shaking his head to try and get some of the drips off. "Jesus Christ I thought we were gonna die."

"I know right." Eddie chuckled a little bit, taking a few deep breaths so his inhaler wasn't to be needed. "God I thought I was gonna die when you pulled me down that fucking cliff. You're such a dickhead." He pushed Richie a little bit and eventually they started laughing their asses off.

"Come on, we should find another way out." Eddie looked around to find an exit to shore. "And then we can go to the clubhouse, get the others and try and sort this out."

"Sure okay. Let's-"

"Come on guys, they gotta be in the water somewhere. They can't stay there forever." They heard Henry say.

"I don't understand why we're going through so much effort just for two little fags." Another guy said - Vic, Richie thought.

Eddie plunged underneath the water, pulling Richie with him. They suspended in water for a bit and stared, the lake clear enough to see each other. Richie looked at Eddie with wide eyes and blinked a few times. With his hair flowing around his head, showing all of his face that was clear and fair with cute little freckles dotted all over his cheeks and on his nose. Richie was taken aback by the undeniable beauty that was Eddie Kaspbrak. Richie was sure he looked ridiculous but he couldn't care.

It was stupid and reckless, yes. That definitely wasn't the time for it, yes. And he probably shouldn't have done it, yes. It could have ruined their friendship, yes. But he did it anyway.

Richie grabbed Eddie by the shoulders and pulled him in, placing his lips on Eddie's. Eddie put his hands on Richie's waist to try and steady himself, sending shivers and shocks down through Richie's body. The two of them suddenly ran out of breath and they had to rise up to grab some air. Eddie scrambled away as soon as they did and he almost hit his head on some rocks.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" He hissed. "Why did you do that?"

"Why did I do what?" Richie said nervously with a laugh. "What are you talking about bro?"

"You're fucking stupid." Eddie sighed. "Why did you _kiss _me?"

"Um..." Richie looked around absentmindedly, feigning the stupidest stupidness he ever had. "What's a kiss?"

"You know what? I'm just gonna swim away." Eddie said raising his hands in defeat. "When you're mature enough to tell me what the fuck just happened, you can come and find me, okay?"

Eddie waited for Richie to say something, _wishing _he would say something. But no words could come to his mind. Eddie sighed, shook his head and did as he said, swam right away and left Richie by himself.

"Fuck." He said, groaning. He laid on his back and floated to the surface by himself. "Fuck a mother-fucking duck, bitch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel like no-one else on this website would has ever said 'fuck a duck' but it's a pretty average part of my vocabulary so i thought it sprinkle it in somewhere (you’re welcome richie)  
i'm a sucker for reading and writing different ways richie and eddie would have had their first kiss so here is yet again, another one, i'm having so much fun writing theses you have no idea lol
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed it and had a good time reading it  
thank you for reading! :))


	2. Chapter 2

Eddie swam away slowly with a confused frown on his face. The cold water splashed on his face as he swam and it was kind of refreshing his whole body was flushed red and so hot after Richie had kissed him underwater. He hadn't exactly expected it or anything. But he didn't as unwelcome. He just wished that Richie would stop being so immature and actually talk to him about it. Instead he pretended to be stupid and _'forgot' _what a fucking kiss was. God it was driving him insane.

Once he was out of the water he ran back up to the top of the cliff, slid his shoes onto his feet, clipped his fanny pack around his waist and ran through the trees again and in no time he was back in the town centre; despite short-ass legs (as Richie so often liked to remind him) he was pretty damn fast. He collapsed down onto the bench and looked up at the Paul Bunyan statue. He suddenly remembered the way that Richie had been staring at it before Bowers had emerged from the arcade, shouting and running after them. It made Eddie wonder why that had happened in the first place. Then he kicked himself for once again letting his mind drift to the boy he'd left in the water.

"Fuck." He whispered to himself, standing up and speed-walking towards Bill's house. He needed to talk. "_Shit _I shouldn't have done that."

It didn't take him long to reach Bill's as it thankfully wasn't too far away. His garage door was half open and he could just about see Bill sitting on his old couch, his arm around Stan's shoulders, a movie playing on the old little TV in front of them. Stan was resting his head in the crook between Bill's neck and shoulder with a tiny smile on his face. Eddie's heart warmed but a shoot of jealousy spiked through it. He wished that the could have that with someone. Someone like

_(Richie)_

the people he saw in the halls of school who held hands with their partners and kissed them softly when they left for lessons.

"Bill?" Eddie said quietly, peeking his head round. He started to feel guilty when Stan jerked away from Bill and scooched across to the other side of the couch. There was a deep blush covering his cheeks and he scratched his neck nervously.

"Hey Eddie." The two of them said at the same time, making them smile at each other, before sharply looking away again. Bill stood up and walked over to him.

"What's up m-man? I thought you were going down to the Q-Quarry today." Bill pulled him into the garage properly and sat him down between himself and Stan awkardly. "Why are you sopping wet?"

"Yeah, weren't you gonna ask Richie to go with you?" Stan asked, elbowing him jokingly with a smirk on his lips, ignoring Bill's question. "Go on a date with you _boyfriend?" _Both of them boys either side of Eddie laughed. 

"Fuck off Stanley, I need to talk to you about something." Eddie leaned forward and put his head on his knees, water dropping onto his bare thighs (he was wearing his short shorts that he knew Richie like - definitely not why he was wearing them). "This is serious."

"Alright, f-fuh-fine." Bill paused the movie and turned to look at Eddie properly. Stan did the same. "What's wr-wrong."

"Is it Richie?" Stan scowled. "Because I swear to God, if that little shit-"

"No Richie didn't do anything!" Eddie held up his hands to stop Stan, and shook his head. Then he frowned. "Well, I guess _technically _he did do something."

"Alright, what was it, I'll talk to him." Stan groaned, standing up and shaking his head.

"No Stan, he didn't do anything bad, sit down!" Eddie rolled his eyes and dragged him down. "Richie kissed me."

"Whuh-What the f-f-fuh-fuck?" Bill sat up much straighter and grabbed Eddie's wrist tightly. "He kissed _y-you_?"

"Okay first off all; ow?" Eddie pulled his arm and frowned, rolling his eyes. "Second of all; yes, he did kiss me."

"Why the fuck did he kiss _you_?" Stan said. "That makes _no sense at all!”_

"Um, rude?" Eddie gestured up and down himself with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sitting right next to you dick."

"No, I just meant that Richie is straight isn't he?" Stan asked, even though Eddie noticed that he looked like he was hiding something. "Why would he kiss you if he was straight?"

"He has a v-vuh-very v-v-valid point Eddie." Bill nodded and pointed at Stan.

"You guys are really not make me feel much better." Eddie stood up and started to walk away. "I knew I should've talked to Ben. He's the romantic in the group."

"O-Oh-Okay, okay, Eddie come back, we're sorry." Bill grabbed Eddie by the shoulders and held him still. "I know you're s-st-stressed, we should've taken this m-muh-more s-seriously."

"Do we have to?" Stan let his head fall back and laughed a little shaking his curls. "I was kind of having fun."

"You know what, you're just as useless as Richie was after the kiss." Eddie stormed over and pointed at Stanley up close. "Do you know he pretended to not know what a kiss was? That little fucker is so _stupid!"_

"Eddie I really think you should talk to him about this." Stan said sincerely this time, holding Eddie's wrist gently and making his let go. "And if he tries to play dumb again bring him to me and I'll sort him out, okay? It's not fair that he did that to you and just left you to deal with it by yourself."

"Well..." Eddie drew out the word and Bill and Stan groaned at the same time.

"What did you do dumbass." Stan said as Bill rumaged around for a towell so Eddie could dry his hair, arms and legs as much as he could, whic Eddie took with a thank you. Bill fell back onto the couch and pulled Eddie down with him. Although this time, he made sure that he and Stan were actually sitting next to each other. He 'discreetly' took Stan's hand in his own and squeezed it. Eddie's little smile returned but so did that jealousy.

"I ran away from him." Eddie winced, and rephrased his words to - regrettably - tell the truth. "I also kind of maybe pushed him away and got kind of mad at him?"

Bill shut his eyes tight and leaned his head on Stan's shoulder, laughing a little bit. Stan snorted and pushed Bill away from him. Eddie sat up straight and turned red.

"What?!"

"You like Ruh-Richie, ruh-r-right?" Bill said, still kind of shaking with laughter he was trying to hold in. Eddie nodded and Stan rooled his eyes. "Then why did you p-push him away? If you l-luh-like him, why didn't you kiss him b-back?"

"It was a shock, okay?" Eddie said. "Come on Bill," Eddie patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "You must have been pretty shocked when Stan kissed you for the first time, huh?"

"Um, actually, Bill kissed me first." Stan said quietly, pushing his hair back a little while his face got all hot and bothered. 

"Really?" Eddie looked at Bill, who was sitting there with a smug smile.

"Wh-What can I s-say?" Bill shrugged his shoulders and with a smug smile, kissed Stan on the cheek, making the latter squirm away, swatting him on the arm. And just to annoy him, he kissed Stan's lips quickly. "Stanley m-makes me all eh-e-ex-excited."

"Shut up dickwad!" Stan hit his arm away and giggled, fanning his blushed face with his hand like he was a young girl in the 1600s. It reminded Eddie of Richie's _Southern Belle _voice. "Stop talking about me like that." 

Eddie let his head fall back and he closed his eyes as he had to listen to Stan and Bill's little fight next to him which was undeniably adorable, but didn't help Eddie's predicament at all.

"Do you think I made him upset?" Eddie mumbled. He thought about Richie's right before he turned away before swam swiftly away from him. It certainly looked different to the usual ones he gave Eddie most of their encounters. It looked... _frightful. _He was scared, scared or Eddie's reaction and how he would respond. And all Eddie did was make him feel like shit. 

"I'm sorry Eddie." Stan said, patting his shoulder and squeezing supportingly. "But you should really go and see him. In the nicest way possible, if you're feeling bad, Richie's probably feeling ten times worse."

"He's ruh-right." Bill said. "It's not gonna be e-ee-easy man. But you have to confront these f-fee-heelings eventually. You've always known thuh-that. You can't through your f-friend-endship with him without s-saying a-an-anyth-thing because before you know it we'll all be leh-leaving Duh-Derry and you'll have that on your muh-mind foreh-ever."

Stan then leaned forward and whispered in Eddie's ear, "And regarding what he did today, it seems like maybe he likes you too." He winked after his words which did seem very unlike Stanley Uris because the gesture warmed Eddie heart.

Eddie nodded slowly and let himself smile. He whispered a thanks to both of them before walking out, cradling his arm that was incased in the white cast that Greta had so cruelly signed with LOSER. He thought about Richie as he walked in the direction of the lake again. The first time they'd met, Richie's opening greeting was, _'Is that a fucking fanny pack?' _and Eddie became prepared to now have to live with a friend that he hated, but had to be around because Bill and Stan liked him. But as the years went on, he found that Richie was kind, considerate and actually cared about Eddie's health, despite all the jokes and quips about sleeping with his mom. He still remembered the time he discovered that Richie always carried an inhaler with him, just in case Eddie needed one and his own had run out. It's when he realised that he _like _liked Richie and it didn't take him long to realise he was falling in love. And the kiss didn't exactly help Eddie's recent mission to try and get over Richie. He knew that that kiss would forever be burned into Eddie's mind. The feeling of Richie's lips on his as the water swirled around them, the feeling of the smooth skin of his waist under his hands, the urge to move his hands into Richie's hair and feel it between his fingers and cradle his face in his hands. But he didn't do either of those things. Instead he pushed him away, got mad and ran. Leaving him in the water, all alone, next to

_Bowers._

"FUCK!" Eddie ran, again (his legs were gonna fucking _kill _the next day). "RICHIE!"

His arms were pumping back and forth, and his legs were burning like crazy but it didn't stop him. The only thing on his mind was _Richie, Richie, Richie. _If Richie got hurt it was gonna be all his fault. If Eddie had stayed with him, they could've kept each other safe. As he ran those thoughts flew round and round his head rapidly while his breathing quickened and his heart rate sky-rocketed and his chest tightened like someone had wrapped a belt around it and did it up the smallest it could go. But he couldn't afford to stop and take a puff of his inhaler. He just had to fucking find Richie.

"Richie!" Eddie yelled once he reached the lake's edge. "Richie where are you?" His voice echoed around and thankfully it seemed like Bowers and his gang were gone. But Richie was too. Which shook him to his core. "Richie you motherfucker, where are you?"

He searched the surrounding area and yet still couldn't find him. And when he looked at the clifftop, Richie's dumb Hawaiian shirt and his white trainers were gone.

"Fuck!"

_Then_ Eddie allowed himself to take a puff from his inhaler, despite how placebo it may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't originally plan for this to be a multi-chapter fic buuuuut here we are with another part, this time in eddie's perspective. as far as i'm planning, the next will be in richie's perspective and so on and so forth
> 
> i hope you enjoyed this part, thank you for reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," Richie chanted liked it was a mantra as he stomped up the hill to get his stuff and get back home. He'd had to wait for Bowers and his gang to leave for almost half an hour so he wasn't loving how wrinkly and gross his skin was. Nor did he appreciate the state his hair was in or how his glasses were ridiculously close to falling apart. "I'm so fucking dumb, why did I do that?"

Eddie's face had broken his heart and him swimming away slowly had stomped on it just for good measure. But he could only blame himself. He was the one who initiated the kiss, underwater and everything to make it dramatic like in the movies and ended up fucking everything up. Eddie was clearly not the one to blame in their predicament. Richie was still repeating his swears and curses while he put his sneakers on and donned his colourful Hawaiian shirt once more. Obviously, both things became soaking wet as soon as they touched his body, but he didn't really tend to carry towels around with him in case of emergency.

As he walked aimlessly with no plan of where he was off to, his mind drifted to dear old Edward Kaspbrak, as it seemed to do all the time. How he'd laughed before all of the shit went down, a cute little tinkling laugh that couldn't _not _make Richie smile despite almost being stabbed by a statue that became sentient due to a killer clown that was after him and his six other friends. The way it sent sparks down Richie's spine when Eddie grabbed his hand and started getting away from Bowers and his gang, sacrificing his own safety to help his friend get away from the resident homophobic dipshits of the town. The grin that had been plastered on his face after they jumped into the river, even if they were being stalked by aforementioned homophobic dipshits. Actually, come to think of it, almost everything that made Richie's heart pump a mile a minute, was often preceded by an awful event. It made Eddie even more fascinating; a boy full of contradictions that could help Richie feel better even in the darkest of moments. It was cheesy, Richie knew full well of that fact, and if he ever told Eddie, the boy would most likely cringe and walk away, claiming that Richie had just been making a dumb joke again. He had no idea how to put that into words that would make any sense and not sound like some 'your mom' quip. 

"Hey, Richie! Can we talk to- Bill stop it!"

Richie's head whipped round, stirring him out of his thoughts while making him jump. He found himself standing outside of Stan's house, where he saw him and Bill holding hands outside the front door, Bill's lips pressed softly against Stan's cheeks, even though Stan was trying to push him away. Richie sighed but jogged over to the two of them anyway. 

"What's up lovebirds- those are your favourite breed of bird right Stan the Man?" Richie helped pry Bill away from Stan, who was now kissing all around his face. "Good _God _young man, you are in_satiable!" _

"Sorry h-hone-ey, I just don't want to l-leave you." Bill said loudly with a slight slur, his stutter not helping, and a dumb smile on his face. Richie raised his eyebrow and looked at Bill closer. His pupils were wide and his face was flushed. 

"Dude, are you high?" Richie snorted. "Stan what did you give to him?"

"He's not high, he fell over and hit his head on the ground while we were leaving his garage and even though I told him to stay at home and get some rest, he was very insistent on walking me home." Stan shook his head and held Bill's arms to his side. "Even though it was more _me_ walking _him _to my house."

"Hey b-bu-aby, how about we take this upst-st-airs?" Bill said with a stupid wink, trying (and executing poorly) to do an impression of one of the 'adult' movies they'd watched during one of their sleepovers, one they _definitely _shouldn't have watched at their age, but found in Richie's dad's bedroom. 

"Shut up Bill!" Stan pushed the other boy away from him, even though he caught him when he almost fell onto his ass. "Hey, just get inside and go to my room. You know where it is, right?" Bill nodded and practically kicked down the front door, blundered inside and ran up the stairs, only falling over his feet once. 

"Your boyfriend's a mess man." Richie almost fell over with his laughter that he'd been holding in for ages. "Seriously, are you sure he didnt fall into a pile of crack or something?"

"How should I know, maybe he did, maybe he didn't." Stan shrugged and started walking to the soft green grass of his front yard and sat down. "But at least I have a boyfriend, where's yours huh? I'm tired of having to cover you when people accuse you of doing something gay"

Richie rolled his eyes and sat down next to him silently. He watched for a minute or so while Stan wrote down a few notes in his bird watching book. His handwriting was a neat cursive and the blue ink pen slid easily ascross the paper. Richie looked carefully for a second and saw that he was writing on the back pages, and it didn't seem to be about birds. The name Bill was repeated throughout it. And the word _love. _Richie smiled at the light blush covering Stan's cheeks and ears. It was like he forgot that Richie was even sitting there. To lighten the mood a little and get them talking (Richie wasn't a hug fan of silences) he yanked Stan's kippah right off his head and placed it jauntily on his own. 

"Hey, dick!" Stan yelled, grabbing it back from him and pulling Richie's hair in the process. "You can't take that. And look what you did!" He held up his book and when his hand had flinched, the pen had ran across the page and there was now a streak of smudged ink. 

"Sorry, the silence was killing me." Richie ruffled Stan's curls until they were sticking up in a complete mess. 

"Well I wish I'd stayed quiet." Stan grumbled. Richie put his hand on his heart in mock pain until Stan sighed. "Alright, I guess I was the one who called you over in the first place." 

"Right. Okay what do you want." Richie fluffed his hair and straightened his glasses. 

"So, Bill and I had a little chit chat with our Eddie earlier on today and he told us some stuff that went down." Stan slide the book into his back pocket and looked down at his hands. "He said you did something on a little impulse in the quarry."

"What- um what are you talking about?" Richie fell back onto the ground and shut his eyes, and breathed out. "I haven't even seen Eddie today. I haven't been to the quarry in _years._"

"We went there last week, I- stop playing dumb!" Stan fell back too and turned Richie's face towards his own. "You can't do stuff like that when you've done something so serious. Did you even consider how that kiss would have made Eddie feel? Or the effect that it would have on you own peace of mind?"

"Of course I considered how Eddie would feel, it's all I've thinking about ever since I left the quarry. I don't know what to do. I only did I because-"

Richie froze and turned round so he was lying on his belly. He didn't want to admit why he did it. If he did then he would have to confront his feelings and tell Eddie the he

(_loved him_)

felt something a bit more than a friendship towards him. And as much as he did feel that for Eddie, he didn't want to have his heartbroken when he found out that he wasn't loved back. 

"I can't afford to tell him Stanley." Richie whispered, not even sure if he was even heard. "I can't afford to lose him just because I have stupid feelings and something wrong with me-" Richie stopped his sentence when he realised what he had said. He felt a hand on his shoulder turn him him back. 

"Richie." Stan's voice cracked. There were tears in his eyes that were dangerously threatening to spill over. "There's nothing wrong with you. If there was something wrong with you there would be something wrong with me and Bill. Do you think there's something wrong with me and Bill?"

"Fuck, Stanley of course not!" Richie sat up and rubbed his face harshly until the skin was red. "Of course I don't think there's something wrong with you two. I'm so happy you're together, and I'm so happy that you guys are happy. For me it's just-"

"It's just that you never wanted to be this thing that you knew people hated. The thing that you were always scared of. The thing that would make you hate yourself." Stan said. His hand dropped down to Richie's and held it. "I get it. I felt all of those things. Before Bill, I wanted to be anything other than who I am. Do you think this was taken well by my parents? By the ones who I thought would stay with me forever because we all believed in the same things? I can't tell you how many people won't look at me the same way anymore."

"You're not making me feel better Stanny." Richie laughed with no humour.

"What I'm trying to say is, when you find the person you love, they help you through anything. They make you forget all of the hate that you get from people you trusted because suddenly the only person's opinion of you that you want to hear is theirs." Stan let go off Richie's hand and touched his cheek. "Tell Eddie how you feel. Trust me, I really think that he likes you back. And it will make you feel so much damn better when you tell him buddy. Once you find that special person, they're perfect in your eyes and can do no wrong."

"Hey! St-Stanle-ley! Get up h-here! I want to give you a sm-smoo-ooch! I promise it's not this c-condussion anym-more!" Bill shouted from Stan's bedroom window. 

"Hey Bill! Say concussion right and I'll believe you dumbass!" Stan shouted back, pointing at him. "Now sit back down and shut the fuck up!"

"Stanley Uris! Language!" Stan's mother yelled from somewhere inside the house. 

"Mom, now is not the time!" Stan bellowed, standing up and almost knocking Richie back down to the ground. 

"I think I'm gonna take off." Richie said, patting Stan on the back. He wasn't sure if he could actually hear him, but Richie's sentiment was still there. "I just want to thank you, okay?"

"It's alright man." Stan said with a grin that looked slightly bothered by the shouting match that was happening between him, his mother and Bill. "Now go get it."

Richie ran away from all the loud noise with a chuckle. He couldn't wait to have weird shouting matches with Eddie and Mrs K. Now all he had to do was find a way to get Eddie to hit his head and get 'condussion' as Bill had so nicely put it. He thought about all of the things that Stan had said and how it had been scarily accurate to how Richie felt, as if Stan was reading his mind or something. It was almost kind of creepy. 

Then he saw something whizz past him and it made him stop in his tracks. It was a person. Someone who looked his age in fact. It was... 

"Eddie?" 

Richie would recognise those tiny red short shorts and black fanny pack anywhere. But he didn't understand why Eddie was running so damn fast.

"Hey! Spaghetti Head! Wait up!" Richie started after him, realising just how fast Eddie was with his tiny little legs that looked like they belonged to a nine year old. "Fuck how is that little thing so quick?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know why the idea of bill being all drowsy and sounding wasted suddenly came to me and made me compelled to write it but i had crazy fun writing it. the angst also finally came in as well which was also an excuse to sprinkle in some more stenbrough (another pairing i adore)
> 
> hope you enjoyed this part and had fun times reading it, thank you for the read :))


	4. Chapter 4

Eddie was leaning against a tree in the middle of the woods, clutching his chest and craddling his fanny pack. He'd been sitting there for about fifteen minutes, in a pretty secluded part of the woods, where he was pretty sure no one would find him even if they wanted to. It was silent apart from the birds making kind of annoying noises and he was suddenly thinking of what Stan would be saying if he was sitting right next to him. Probably pointing out and naming every kind of bird, then noting it down in his little book. Not to mention stessing him out about every plant being poison ivy. But then Richie came to the forefront of his mind, shouting out Stan that _'not every fucking plant is poison ivy Stanley'_. 

Realistically, Eddie knew that Richie wasn't dead. He wasn't even 100% sure that Henry had even gotten to Richie, the guy was pretty damn fast; you had to be to survive as a teenage loser in Derry. But it didn't stop Eddie from stressing about whether he'd been caught or not. After all, he'd been left floating in the water like fresh bait for assholes. So there was a pretty high chance that he'd been beaten up to a trashmouth pulp. Which didn't make Eddie feel amazing.

"He probably went with a 'your mom' joke on his lips." Eddie mumbled, putting his aspirator in his mouth and spraying some medicine. 

"Eddie Spagheeettiiiii!" A voice started ringing through the trees, bouncing off the bark and rustling in the trees. "Hey, where the fuck are you?"

Eddie shot up straight and almost slipped on the leaves, kicking them up in the air. His fanny pack splashed in the mud and he brought his hands to his mouth. 

"Oh my god, oh my god, holy _fuck_!" He bent down and picked it up, leaving it hanging between his fingers. He could actually see a bug crawling over it and mud dripping onto the ground. It made him want to throw up. "Oh god I'm gonna be sick."

When some of it fell on his shoe, Eddie drew the line and with a shriek he threw it across the space until it hit a tree far away from him. But then when the tree stumbled back and went _'Bitch!'_ Eddie started the doubt whether it actually _was_ a tree. 

"Who the _fuck_ throws a fucking fanny pack in the middle of the woods?" 

Eddie couldn't bother to listen to whoever was cursing him out because he could only concentrate on the mud on covering his fingers and sticking under his nails. Now he realised that because he'd thrown the bag, he didn't have his medical wipes or his hand sanitizer. So there was no way to get it off of his hands without getting it on any other part of his skin or on his clothes. And it was really stressing him out. It was like he could feel a million different bugs crawling all over and under his skin, infecting him and giving him thirty-thousand kinds of diseases. He fell on his ass, up against the tree again and hugged his knees, slumping down and trying to take deep and steady breaths, just like his friends had taught him. But he didn't have his aspirator either. When he looked up he could decide if the spots in his vision were in his mind or the sun beaming through the gaps in the overhead leaves. It was getting way too much for his tiny 13 year old lungs that felt like they were gonna collapse. 

"Eddie? Are you okay?" 

Eddie looked up and there was a figure crouching down in front of him. Its face was shadowed but when it leaned forward, he saw the face of that awful leper from Neibolt House. It was drooling and snarling at him and its skin was peeling and moulding off, pieces even dropping off on the floor near his skin. It smelt overwhelmingly of vomit and Eddie thought he himself was going to throw up. He was paralysed with fear. 

_'I'll blow you for a nickel. I'll even blow you for free Eddie!'_

"No, no, stop it, stop it please!" Eddie cried, tears running down his face in streams. He was trembling and he screamed as the leper grabbed onto his shoulder. He turned his face away and whimpered into his other shoulder. "Please leave me alone."

"Eds, calm down! Eddie please calm down, it's just me!"

Eddie cracked his eyes open and where he saw the leper, a face that wore a pair of big black glasses was staring at him right in the face. But where Eddie assumed he would see anger, or horror, he instead saw concern. He squeezed his eyes shut a couple of times and fluttered his eyes open and shut to try and clear up his vision. 

"Rich-" Eddie coughed and tried to wipe away the tears on his cheeks. "Richie, is that you?"

"Yeah sweet, it's me." Richie was smiling and stroking Eddie's hair away from his forehead. He softly touched his cheek and pinched it, lighter than he usually would. "Hey... You okay?"

"Um-" Eddie tried to sit up straighter, trying for a smile. "Yeah, yeah I think so."

"Good good," Richie laughed a little and patted his cheek. "I don't want you dying on me Eds. Not yet at least."

Eddie blinked again and then he shot up again properly, clutching Richie's shoulders tightly. 

"Holy shit," He whispered. "Holy shit! You're alive! Oh fuck I thought you were dead!" He jumped forward adn wrapped his arms around Richie's waist. "God, I'm so happy you're not dead!"

Richie made a weird face and laughed again, this time more wearily. He patted Eddie on the shoulder and sat down next to him, keeping one arm around his waist. 

"Why would I be dead huh?" Richie said. "Unless you think you've killed me with your cuteness."

"I-" Eddie shook his head, confused and took a deep breath. "Well, I left you with Bowers and his gang right next to you while you were just floating there in the water. And then when I came to look for you, you weren't here and neither was Bowers and- and I thought that he'd taken you and you were being beaten up!"

"Oh, you know I wouldn't have gone down without a fight Eds. Not when you're still out here looking all adorable." Richie was grinning and he smacked his lips loudly against Eddie's cheek with a gross sound. "How could I leave a pretty face like yours?"

"Oh Richie!" Eddie said loudly, turning his face and grabbing Richie's in his hands, squeezing his cheeks. Richie turned red and started smiling a little. "I'm so sorry I ran - or _swam_ away from you. I don't know why I did because I've liked you for so so _so_ fucking long and I really wanted to kiss back and I don't know why I didn't because as soon as I left you I regretted it. I actually went to Bill and Stan for advice and they told me to tell you so I came looking for you but when I got here you were gone so that's why I thought Bowers had taken you and beat you up or even worse killed you. I was so fucking scared and you have no idea how happy I am you're here. God I just wish that-"

Richie pushed Eddie's hands off and surged forward to pull him in, smashing their lips together. Eddie relaxed his tensed muscles and his hand slid up Richie's arm to rest of his shoulder. When Richie pulled back Eddie just kissed him again. It wasn't like the kisses you read about in books with fireworks and stuff, but it was even better. It was like nothing Eddie had ever felt ever. He didn't care about any germs that they could be sharing for one, instead he just cared about their lips against each others. 

"Oh Eddie, you mean the world to me." Richie sighed, moving back and resting his forehead on Eddie's. "You don't know how nervous I was when you left. I thought you hated me, thought I ruined everything between us. You're my best friend Eds, and Stan told me-"

"Wait, Stan was there?" Eddie said.

"Yeah, he called me over and I asked him for advice." Richie said. "But that's not really the point Eddie, what I'm trying to say is-"

"Stan gave me advice earlier on today as well!" Eddie leaned back and breathed out in disbelief. "He was really putting out fires today wasn't he."

"Yes well, now that that's out of the way." Richie rolled his eyes and pulled Eddie closer to him today. "I just want you to know how much you help me as a person. I can't imagine my life without you. I've been scared my whole life to tell you how I feel because of how Derry is and I didn't want to lose you. But- but Stan told me that when I find the person I love, they'll-"

"The person you love?" Eddie whispered, he reached his hand up and ran it down Richie's cheek. "You love me?" He could see Richie prepare to be all stupid and deny everything so he held up his finger quickly. "And don't you dare try and play stupid and tell me you don't fucking know what love is."

"Fine." Richie sighed. He smiled softly and his eyes were shining when he looked at Eddie. "I love you Eddie. And that's all I care about. I love you."

"Oh Richie." Eddie said quietly, barely heard when the wind whipped by. It was only because of how close they were together. They'd gravitated towards each other and their lips were brushing every time they spoke. "I love you too."

Richie flashed his big toothy grin and Eddie's heart exploded into a million pieces. He grabbed Richie's hands and waved them around excitedly. They laughed and the wind cleared, leaving just their noise, for anyone to hear.

"God I can't believe I just kissed you." Richie said in disbelief. Then he shouted, "I just kissed Edward Kaspbrak! You hear that Mrs K? And you, Pennywise the Sloppy Bitch! Screw that you motherfucker! You can go suck it and I'll just be here with the love of my life!"

"Richie, shut up!" Eddie giggled, swatting him until he stopped. "What if my mom or... _something else_ hears?"

"We'll take 'em together huh?" Richie elbowed him. "You, me and clowny makes three." He looked at Eddie's hands and winced. "Oh Eds, are your hands okay?"

"Ah shit, I'd forgotten about those." Eddie huffed, staring down at them. "I don't have my damn fanny pack."

"Well, if I remember correctly, you threw that at me didn't you." Richie raised an eyebrow but stood up anyway and went to find where he'd been standing before. He came back with it and sat back down, pulling out the wipes and the hand sanitizer. Eddie's hands were shaking again when he tried to take them. "Hey, let me do it."

Eddie looked up at him sweetly with red hot cheeks and smiled a little, chuckling under his breath. Richie took his hand softly and started wiping them clean slowly, bending and turning Eddie's hands to make sure all of the dirt and mud and any tiny little bugs that may have been on his skin. He only stopped once Eddie had assured him that they were properly clean. Once he'd finished with the wipes and everything was gone, Richie squirted a small amount onto his hand and opened Eddie's. He rubbed them together with his own for a while until they were both dry and warm. Eddie felt himself tear up and his eyes started stinging. Never before had he ever felt so loved by another person. 

"Thank you." Eddie said, kissing Richie again. "Thank you Richie. No one's ever done that for me before. They all kinda think I'm silly. Even Bill sometimes."

“I don’t think it’s silly.” Richie said with a shrug.

“You don’t?” Eddie asked, a crooked smile on his face. “You’d be one of the first.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a bit... over-cautious.” Richie looked away a bit. “I know I joke but... I just want to make sure you’re okay. Why else would I carry around that spare inhaler? I just want to make sure my wittle Eddie-bear is okay!” Richie pinched Eddie’s cheeks.

“Fuck off man! You just _had_ to make a sweet moment a joke.” Eddie pushed him away and he fell on his butt, making him laugh. “Ha! Karma’s a bitch!”

The two of them laughed and jumped about on top of each other, kissing as the sun set behind them like they were in some kind of cheesy romance fanfiction. All memories of Bowers and the quarry earlier on in the day were gone. Except for the kiss of course.

And as Richie walked back home, hand in hand with the boy he’d loved since he found out what that funny feeling with butterflies in his stomach meant, he decided that that gross Paul Bunyan statue asking for a kiss had _nothing_ on his Eddie Kaspbrak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have never finished a multi-chapter fic on this account before and i am happy to say that’s a reddie one was my first.  
it took me a while to reach an ending i was happy with but i hope it was all worth it. i just had to give these guys a happy ending instead of a sad old one relating to it chapter (rip :’) 
> 
> thank you so much for reading, and i hope you enjoyed it :))


	5. bonus stenbrough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is basically just a little bonus chapter regarding the sprinkle of stenbrough i added in the second and third chapter, on why bill was all loopy in the third one, and how stan feels about their relationship 
> 
> just me being self-indulgent and loving these two boys too much :)
> 
> (i also realised that when i proof-read this that i used a titanic quote, when the titanic movie wouldn’t have been out yet but let’s just ignore that for now lmao)

As Eddie ran off down the road, Stan looked back up at Bill with a soft smile and leaned his head back onto the soft fabric of the jumper on Bill's shoulders, squeezing their fingers tighter together. He felt Bill laugh lightly more than he heard him and he sighed, grinning more. The movie was still playing in front of them but he wasn't paying much attention to that anymore. He could only think about the way Bill's chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm that made Stan feel like he could fall asleep. And before he knew what was happening, his eyes were fluttering shut and he snuggled even closer to Bill. When he woke up, the credits of the movie were rolling and Bill was sleeping soundly, his head resting on Stan's sandy curls. Stan's heart started beating about a mile a minute and he realised he wanted nothing more than to press a million kisses all over Bill's face. But he didn't want to wake him up. It was a bit of a double-edged sword really. 

Stan often found himself thinking about their relationship when they were like this; tangled up with each other, a movie on in the background, Bill's garage door open so they could feel the sun and hear the birds, but the couch hidden away enough so that no passer by (or one Henry Bowers) could see them. They were yet to become _official_ official. No matter how much Stan so wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to start that conversation because he didn't want to scare Bill off, or whether perhaps Bill didn't even want a relationship, he just wanted to stay the way they were. Kissing and laughing and spending as much of their time together as possible. Which Stan could definitely get behind, there was no doubt about that. He just thought that maybe having a boyfriend would be kind of... nice. And after talking with Eddie he deduced that he really wanted a name for what he and Bill had. He wanted to be Bill's boyfriend. And all of these thoughts were spinning through his mind at once. Now he just had to work out how to bring up the topic. 

"Hey s-sweetie," Bill whispered huskily. Stan's pulse was thumping so loudly he was sure that somehow Bill could hear it. "Are you awuh-wake?" 

"How did you know?" Stan breathed out a tiny laugh, his cheeks betraying him again and flushing. 

"You th-thuh-think f-far too loudly." Bill shifted and let out a groan as he stretched his long limbs. Stan had noted the growth spurt Bill had gone through and he really did appreciate it. 

"Pardon my rushing mind." Stan said, rolling his eyes and wriggling in Bill's hold, not wanting to be let out of the soft warmth yet. But when Bill stood up he flopped onto the couch and sighed. "Where are you going?" 

"Cha-hanging the movie." Bill yawned. He shook his hair like a dog and knelt down to look through his movie collection. Stan looked at his watch and his eyes widened. 

"Yikes Bill, I should really be heading home." He said, standing up as well. "My mom's gonna be worried." Stan was immediately filled with guilt when Bill turned around and he saw the look on his face. "I'm sorry Bill." 

Bill gave and sad smile but opened his arms and gestured for Stan nonetheless. Stan giggled despite himself and walked forward into Bill's arms that wrapped around his waist as he pulled Stan in for a kiss. Stan's arms instinctively went around Bill's neck and he hung them there loosely while they kissed lazily. All thoughts of officially defining a relationship seemed inferior to Stan when they could just stand and kiss like that forever. Bill was smiling and he could feel a smile being returned to him on the other's lips. 

"Did I ever t-tell y-y-you how beautiful you are S-Stuh-Stanley?" Bill asked quietly, not wanting to break the peace of their little bubble they'd created for just the two of them. Stan could see in Bill's eyes how he hated his stutter blocking his words though. 

"You may have mentioned it a couple of times, yes." Stan was grinning at him and rolling his eyes again. 

"Is an eye-r-ro-oll just de-heault for you Stan?" Bill said, dramatically rolling his own just to poke fun. "I suh-wear it's the only way I ever s-see you nowad-days." 

"Maybe everyone's just being too dumb for me to handle, hm?" Stan teased back. He leaned back in a pressed a kiss on Bill's cheek, holding his lips there for longer than usual, sighing contentedly when he pulled away. "I really do have to go now though." 

"Le-het me w-walk you ho-home." Bill offered, following Stan as he walked out. "P-Puh-lease." 

Stan hesitated for a moment before nodding sweetly and holding his hand out. Bill rushed forward to grab it but as he was inches away, he tripped over his own feet and fell right down to the ground, hitting his forehead on the kerb. Stan gasped and fell to his knees, helping Bill sit up and checking him over for any injuries other than the bump and bruise that he could already see forming on the top of Bill's forehead, right at his hairline. 

"Shit Bill, are you okay?" Stan held Bill's face tightly in his hands and looked into his eyes. He noticed they were a bit glassy, unfocused and his pupils were blown wide. "Bill?" 

"He-eyyy, good looking." Bill slurred, pressing a kiss sloppily on Stan's cheek. "Looks like I really fuh-fell for you huh?"

Stan groaned and while he wanted to push Bill away for saying something so cheesy, he instead helped him stand up and steady himself. He brushed off Bill's clothes and held onto his hand tightly. 

"Okay, we are going to get you upstairs right now, and you are gonna get some rest, and take a nice long nap, okay? I'll be gone by the time you wake up but I will-" He sentence was suddenly cut off when Bill pushed a finger clumsily against his lips. 

"Nooooo, I promised I w-wuh-would wa-alk you home, and that's what I'm go-oing to do Stanley Uris." He said indignantly. Stan tried to pull him away anyway but Bill dug his heels in so harshly that Stan himself almost fell over. 

"Come on Billy, honey, you have to work with me here!" Stan pleaded, looking around nervously to check that no one could see the two of them. "Please just come up with me." 

"I will literally no-hot stop screa-eaming until you le-het me w-walk you ho-ome." Bill said with a dead serious look on his face. Stan didn't think much of it until Bill opened his mouth wide and let out the most horrific scream, causing Stan to lunge forward and slap his hand over his mouth. 

Bill didn't stop screaming even with the hand covering his mouth, until a moment later when Stan gave the deadliest death glare he'd ever given and Bill sneered silently back at him. He had the final laugh in the end however, by licking a long strip up Stan's palm and kissing it. Stan jerked back and cursed his blushing cheeks as he wiped his hand on his shorts. 

"That was fucking disgusting." He muttered and Bill giggled and looked around absentmindedly like a seven year old. "Fine, how about I let you walk me home, but only if you promise to let my mom give you a ride back to yours and you go up to your room to get some rest and have a good nap. Alright?" He could see that Bill was about to protest - probably by screaming once more - so he shut him up seconds before even the tiniest noise could escape his throat. "Don't you dare scream at me! That is what we are going to do, and that is final. _Alright_?" 

"Sir, yes sir." Bill stood up to attention suddenly, going to salute but almost losing his footing; Stan had to catch him from falling, _again_. He snickered and whispered into Stan's ear, something that made him choke on his own saliva; "I love it when you get all authoritative with me Stanley." 

Finally, after Stan pulled Bill's arm over his shoulder, they started to walk together, slowly, partly so that Bill didn't trip again, and partly for Stan, who was having to pretty much carry Bill to his house. Bill kept himself busy during the stroll by singing stupid songs and, when he wasn't doing that, putting his mouth to another use by pressing hard kisses all over Stan's face and neck. It proved to be quite dangerous when Stan realised he could barely keep his legs walking when he was doing that; when Bill planted one very well-placed smooch to Stan's pulse point, his knees went weak and he too nearly fell over as well. But finally, after what felt like hours to Stan but probably mere second to Bill, they made it home in one piece, without either of them getting any fatal injuries. 

Stan however, did come out of the journey with a few small bruises dotted around his neck. It did amaze him how Bill could somehow trip over his own feet just walking five steps, but could happily stumble along, clinging to Stan while sucking on said person's neck so enthusiastically.

☾ ☾ ☾

After Richie finally wandered off, and he got his mother and Bill to stop shouting, Stan shut his front door and leaned his head against it groaning. He was really getting sick of covering for Richie's dumb ass whenever something like that came up and he wished that he and Eddie would just confess their love and get together already. The idea that a loopy, possibly concussed Bill was waiting for him upstairs filled him with mixed emotions but he supposed it was better than still having therapy out in the front yard. Although he wasn't sure whether he was happy that Bill was in his bed, or annoyed because he now had to deal with it.

"Staaaaaaan!" Bill whined suddenly, snapping Stan out of his reverie. "Ruh-Richie's gone n-now, come uh-upstai-airs!" 

Stan sighed and stomped up the stairs and turning the corner at the top, entering his room to see Bill laying on his side, staring at him in a way that Stan assumed was an attempt at being seductive and winking. 

"Draw m-me like wu-one of y-your Freh-hench girls Stan-le-ley." Bill said lowly. He winked - or, tried to at least. Really it was more of a strange blink. It made Stan smile nonetheless. 

"You of all people should know that I don't want to be looking at any _French girls_." Stan sat down next Bill and leaned him back up. Bill immediately collapsed back down so his head was on Stan's lap and he hummed happily. 

"You're s-so fu-uh-nny." He said, his mouth squashed against Stan's bare leg, tickling everytime he spoke. "God, I'm so f-fuh-ucking lucky." Stan giggled and carded his fingers through Bill's brown locks softly. "I mean, seven buh-billion people on this plah-anet and God gave me the m-most beautiful boy in the wuh-world to love! I am s-so blessed!"

Stan's hand froze and he pulled away, rolling Bill to the other side of the bed and scooching away from him so he was resting up against the headboard. He hugged his knees and breathed deeply. 

"You- um, you love me?" Stan whispered. He was staring at his feet but looked up when Bill didn't say anything and found him in the other corner of the room, inspecting some painting that was on his wall. "Bill!"

"Yep!" Bill's head whipped round and he blinked a few times, a little dopey smile appearing on his lips. "Wha-what is it Stanny b-bay-ayby 

"Did you just say you loved me?" Stan said, getting up off of the bed and walking to Bill, taking his hands. He pressed a kiss to each of them and blushed. 

"Well duuuuhhh." Bill said as if it the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course I luh-love you, you big do-dolt! You're like, the per-herson I love the m-most in the entire wuh-world. You’re my b-buh-boyfriend!” 

Stan’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock. _Bill just defined the relationship,_ he thought. His heart was racing a million miles a minute and he didn’t know how to stop it. But it was like Bill’s mouth was moving the same speed - which didn’t do wonders for his stutter - and he didn’t seem like he was going to stop anytime soon. 

“It's like, I al-alw-ays thought I w-was in luh-love with B-B-Beh-everly, I thought I liked g-girls because you know, it's the 1980s, everyone is str-strai-straight ruh-right?" Stan nodded, kind of nervous about where his speech was going. "But the-hen, I realised that the puh-p-person I'm suh-supposed to b-b-be with for the rest of my l-life has been in front o-of m-me all along! It's yu-you Stan! I luh-love you s-s-so much mah-an." Bill jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Stan, tighter than Stan had ever felt before. 

"I..." Stan gulped and had tears in his eyes, but was grinning too - a beaming smile lighting up his face. "I love you too Bill. So much, you have no idea." 

"Thank f-f-fuh-fuck!" Bill yelled, giggling after Stan shushed him loudly, looking to the door that was slightly open; his mom was still downstairs washing dishes. "I mean, _thank goo-goodne-ess._” Bill winked and Stan snorted at the awful effort he made to make up for his mistake. "N-Now I can fuh-fi-inally take a n-nah-nap." 

Bill then went floppy and passed out, falling like a log onto Stan, who only just managed to catch him in time without being crushing himself. He carried Bill for the second time that day - something he didn't really want to make a habit - and tucked him into his bed. Then, he crawled into it and pulled the covers over both of them, curling up beside Bill who was making the cute little snoring sounds that he always made when it slept. Stan fell asleep with a hint of a smile on his lips and three words whispered into Bill's hair. 

_"I love you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’ve discovered that not being from america means it feels really weird for me to write stuff like ‘mom’ and ‘couch’ and i don’t often realise it but it is a bit strange lol
> 
> i hope you guys enjoyed this little extra part, i know i loved writing it  
thanks for reading ! :)


End file.
